Houldsworth
by cecills
Summary: When Alice is sent to a British boarding school by Carlisle and Esme after an incident that changes everyone's lives, how will she cope? AH.
1. Chapter 1

**Hey! So, I apologise in advance for the poor quality of writing. I know how much it annoys me when the writing bad. Anyway, on with the show. I hope you enjoy this.**

**C. x**

**Disclaimer: I OWN TWILIGHT! in my dreams. :{D **

_APOV_

I glanced around the room, looking at each of the beds with disinterest. Next to each Ikea-make bed was an Ikea bedside table on wheels and an Ikea wardrobe. One of these areas was mine. One of these spaces was to be my home for the next nine months or so.

So God help me.

I wandered back to the front hallway at a leisurely speed, deliberately taking my time just to make Carlisle and Esme wait, after all it's they're the ones that are sending me here.

I got back just in time to see a large group of girls bound in the front door, all lugging heavy-looking suitcases and trunks behind them. They were chattering in loud voices, all obviously excited to see each other after the long Summer break. They all looked so happy and content, and I wished that I could be like them, be like the rest of my family back in Forks. Unfortunately this was not possible, after the incident, anyway.

One of the girls broke away from the group and walked up to me.

'Hi, I'm Anna Watson. You're new this year, right? What's your name? What year are you in?' She paused for a second, obviously considering her questions. She flushed, 'Sorry – this must seem like the Spanish Inquisition!'

I smiled at her and replied.

'Hey. Yeah, I'm new. My name's Alice Cullen and I'm in…' I checked the sheet that the head of boarding, Miss Pellier, had given to me earlier on. 'Upper Five.'

Anna grinned and pointed behind her head towards the others, who were at this point watching this exchange with interest.

'Us, we're all in Upper Five too. Head of uniform! You'll probably be sharing with one or two of us.'

Anna was quite pretty, and looked a little like Rosalie: she had golden hair that tumbled down to her mid-back in large, soft waves. Her eyes were large and almond shaped, Pacific Ocean blue. Her lips were full and pale red. Actually, I thought, she was really quite stunning.

Two of the other girls ambled over to us and introduced themselves as Georgia and Catherine. I introduced myself too and politely excused myself so that I could go and talk to the people I call my parents.

Carlisle and Esme were standing patiently by the hire car, a burgundy coloured Renault Espace - not their kind of car. It was slow, not fast; dark red, not black; under £20,000, not over. I stalked over to them, blatantly annoyed.

They smiled at me kindly and my resolve crumbled like an overcooked cake. I felt a tingling in my nose and then in my eyes. I squeezed them shut, determined not to show any weakness. I failed. The tears flew out of my eyes before I could stop them and I fell into Esme's arms. She folded me into her soft body and rocked me back and forth.

I didn't want to be here, I didn't want to go to this place that was also known as a school. I didn't want to be the only American in the boarding house. But most of all, I didn't want to not see my family for nine months: that would be the hardest thing to endure out of it all.

Life without Rosalie's tenacity, Emmett's laughter, Edward's music, Jasper's love, Esme's caring and Carlisle's leadership would be unbearable. It would be as if a huge part of me was missing. I was already feeling the pain now, and my parents hadn't even left the school grounds.

Just at that moment a shrill voice called out over a tannoy system.

'Welcome back, girls. It's about time for you all to be settling in and your parents to be leaving. Now, could you all please go to your rooms and vacate the whole house areas? Thank you.'

It was the 'wonderful' Miss Pellier. She was annoying the pants off of me already. Her high-pitched voice, perfect hairstyle and pink clothes were just the things that would get on my nerves constantly. That, as well as her condescending manner.

I looked at Carlisle and Esme and had to hold back the tears once again. Esme didn't even attempt to. She looked at my red puffy face, tear stained and streaky, and apologised. Apologised for sending me away, for the incident that was entirely not her fault, for everything. Carlisle gave me a quiet hug that expressed everything that he felt perfectly.

As I walked away, back into the boarding house – Houldsworth - I glanced backwards to see Carlisle holding Esme like she held me mere minutes before. We locked eyes, and a moment of silent communication passed between us. He would help me, in any way possible.

Any way other than getting me out of here.

**So. There it is. Can't guarantee I'll continue with this. Thanks for reading! **


	2. Chapter 2

**Heyloo. Okay, so I know that this chapter is really rather shit, but I don't mind. Also, I think that I changed tenses half way through. HA HA. I do that all the time, bad habit, bad habit. It kind of sucks.**

**And a bit of a shameless plug: if you haven't read 'The Edward Diaries' or 'Suspicion' by Hockey-Girl32 or 'Fearless' by C-L-SC-, go read them now. Please. AND 'Around the World with Eight Cullens', also by Hockey-Girl32. It was co-written by her and a bunch of our other friends, and it's pretty hilarious... wait, maybe it only is to us... :P**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Twilight or any of the characters. Blah blah blah. **

_AnnaPOV_

The new girl, Alice, was stunning. She looked like a pixie, with ethereal beauty. She seemed quite nice, but was obviously preoccupied with something when we were talking. Probably upset about her parents leaving. I know I would be, them living on the other side of the world and all.

A loud noise broke me out of my reverie, and I looked up sharply. One of Georgia's bright purple suitcases that were stuffed with designer outfits, shoes and make-up had fallen and crashed to the polished wood floor.

'Shit!' She exclaimed, 'I'm never going to be able to lift that one up again – it's full of my…' she shuddered. 'Books.'

We were in our room, the biggest in the house. It was the most sought after one for many reasons: it was massive; it was in the annex (a small extension that has just two rooms in it); it has the flat roof of one of the Common Rooms right beneath it, making it easier to sneak out at night; it has three huge windows that were useful for the same reason; and most importantly, it has a cupboard above one of the wardrobes that is large enough for a person - if need be – or our other, less legal substances. This room was perfect, and I was sharing with one of my best friends, Georgia. Catherine was in the other Upper Five room.

Georgia is the wild one of us: crazy and hyper, she always makes an awkward situation hilarious. Catherine is the quiet one. She calms us down all the time, and knows how to make us feel better all the time. I'm like the glue. I'm a mixture of them both. We've been best friends since Upper Four - the first year of Upper School – when we all arrived.

There was one problem with what would be an incredibly good room. That bloody Miss P always had to go and wreck a good thing by 'mixing us up with other girls'. This other girl was new. Damnit.

I flopped back onto my unmade bed and sighed heavily. This year was going to be horrible unless we all got on with this new person. This mysterious newcomer decided to make a grand entrance at this point, slamming the door open and storming into the room, tears streaming down her face. Her eyes were red and puffy and she was squinting slightly. Georgia and I followed her progress across the room to her area, watching her reaction as she felt our stares on her back. She turned around slightly, her face an even deeper shade of scarlet than before. Georgia and I looked at one another, unsure of what to do. She stared at us, still in shock.

'Um… Sorry. About that. I… I just really didn't want to have to say goodbye to Carlisle and Esme. My parents.'

Georgia dropped the Chloe dress she was folding and rushed across the extremely messy room towards Alice. I jumped off of my bed and made my way across the minefield too. We encircled her in a huge hug, showing her that she wasn't alone. She hugged us back, attempting to stem her flow of tears.

As we broke away she apologised profusely, blatantly embarrassed by her outburst and our friendly reaction to it.

There was a light tapping on the door as it opened, and the 'wonderful' Miss P bounded in, her enthusiasm making us all groan inwardly.

'Girls, girls, girls! This is Alice Cullen, our newest student here at St George's. Alice, Anna and Georgia. Anna and Georgia, Alice.' She made the (un)necessary introductions. 'Now. Please get yourselves settled in: unpacked, beds made, everything. And I hope that – oh, Georgia! Not again. Please. I'm sure I told you this last year, and the year before! YOU DON'T NEED THREE SUITCASES! This is school, not a fashion parade.'

'But, Miss P. Think about it. What if I don't get to go home before the Boarders' Ceilidh? Or the Upper Five Ball? Or the Highland Ball? What would I do if I had nothing to wear? I would need to make an unscheduled trip into town during the week, dragging Anna and Cathy behind me. Is this what you want? More trouble?' Miss P shook her head, accepting the fact that she was never going to win against Georgia.

'Anyway, it's tea now girls. If you're not down soon you'll have to go to 2nd Sitting.' She bounced out of the room, perfect hair still in place.

We followed her out of our room, chatting animatedly. Alice was just like Georgia, it appeared: way too keen on shopping, and, if possible, even more hyper. They were involved in an in-depth conversation about designers. I caught only ever fourth or fifth word, they were talking so fast. I led the way down to the dining room, taking a seat at our usual table.

I looked around. There were more new girls than usual this year, but only Alice was in Upper Five. Looks like quite a few Upper Fours, though. I waved to one of my friends in the year above, Lily. She smiled back, adjusting her Amy Winehouse-style, St. G's hair, birds' nest, beehive. Alice stared about her in amazement. Her eyes rested on Lily's hair. Her eyes widened in horror and I couldn't help but to laugh out loud at the comical expression on her delicate face.

Miss P called each of the tables up to the front one by one to collect the rubbish they call food. Tonight, it was 'spaghetti carbonara'. It looked disgusting, and smelled like wet dog. Alice placed a little pasta on her plate and skipped out on the sauce. I headed for the salad, whilst Georgia dived for the spaghetti and the carbonara. 'Ew' was the only word I could think of to describe the sight before my eyes.

As soon as tea ended we were all sent back up to our rooms to sort our stuff out. We began the trek up to the annex with our tummys full and dreading the coming unpacking session. As soon as we got back to the room Alice began pulling designer clothes out of her two massive suitcases. A Marc Jacobs dress landed by the bin, while a pair of Gucci heels narrowly missed my head. From Georgia's direction came a Joseph cardigan and a Theory dress.

This year was going to be interesting…


End file.
